Thomas Conway

Thomas Conway (26 February 1735-1800) was the Inspector-General of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Born in Ireland, Conway served in the French Army before volunteering his services to the Continental Congress in 1777. Conway led the "Conway Cabal", a group of officers in the Continental Army that sought to replace George Washington as commander-in-chief, and he was forced to resign in 1778 after his role in the cabal was discovered.

Biography
Thomas Conway was born on 26 February 1735 in Ireland, and he studied in the Kingdom of France, living there with other "Wild Geese". Conway rose to the rank of colonel in the French Army with twenty years of experience, and in 1777 he decided to volunteer his services to the Continental Congress during the American Revolutionary War. The United States ambassador to France, Silas Deane, recommended him to Congress, and Conway was given the rank of Brigadier-General on 13 May 1777. He proved himself at the Battle of Germantown, leading the right wing at the battle. However, General George Washington disagreed with his suggested promotion to Major-General, as Conway was condescending towards other generals, and Washington believed that some American-born generals deserved promotion more than Conway. This created friction between the two, and Conway would later be promoted to Major-General and Inspector-General by Congress. Conway continued plotting against his enemy, writing insulting letters about Washington to Horatio Gates, and Conway, Gates, Charles Lee, and other dissenting generals in the Continental Army formed the "Conway Cabal", seeking to replace Washington as commander-in-chief. In March 1778, Conway was dismissed from the army after a letter to Gates was discovered, and on 22 July 1778 John Cadwalader shot him in the mouth during a duel. Fearing that he would die, Conway wrote a letter of apology to Washington and offered a conditional resignation, but Congress granted him an unconditional resignation instead. Conway returned to France, where he would become Governor of French India, far away from the mainland. In 1793, Conway would return to Ireland after leading royalists against the French Revolutionary Army in southern France during the French Revolutionary Wars, and Conway died in poverty and exile.